← 2.77.7 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 77: Bharata’s march to the Gaṅgā · 2.77.9 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.77.8

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 77: Bharata’s march to the Gaṅgā. The Queens, army, priests, craftspeople and townspeople accompany him, the company camps before the river crossing

In the sequence: Kausalyā, Sumitrā, and Kaikeyī travel with them, hoping to bring Rāma back

2.77.8

meghaśyāmaṃ mahābāhuṃ sthirasattvaṃ dṛḍhavratam
kadā drakṣyāmahe rāmaṃ jagataḥ śokanāśanam

'When shall we behold Rāma — dark as a raincloud, mighty-armed, of firm resolve and steadfast vows, destroyer of the world's grief?'

Words: meghaśyāmaṃ — dark as a cloud; mahābāhuṃ — mighty-armed; sthirasattvaṃ — of firm resolve; dṛḍhavratam — steadfast in his vows; kadā — when; drakṣyāmahe — shall we see; rāmaṃ — Rāma; jagataḥ — of the world; śokanāśanam — destroyer of grief

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.